Happy New Year!

Here's to a glorious 2011!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Projects of 2010!

Well, there are lots of things I could look back on for 2010 but I'm sticking to the few projects I finished and the one....well.....you'll see!

These are in chronological order - not the order of importance or #7 would be moved to #1!

1.  Cleaned and organized my pantry

From unable to find anything to organized nirvana!

And it still looks this good today!  For almost a year!  Wow!

2.  Made Julia's Boeuf Borguignon..... 

It was so delicious but I have yet to tackle another recipe in this book.  Do any of you have any suggestions for what to tackle next?

3.  Celebrated the Sewing Bee's 70th birthday with a weekend at the beach - in this charming cottage - with the beach right outside our door.  Yes, that's the ocean horizon you see in the background.

4.  Celebrated Baby Bee's 9th Birthday with a Cupcake Party.

Okay, I have to admit, I am really, really taken with my Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake game!  Is it wrong to really like one of your own projects?  

5.  Made this crazy quilt mosaic tree stump side table!

6.  Created a kitchen garden where these trees used to be.

I'm really looking forward to taking the lessons I learned with my first kitchen garden and using them with my garden this spring.

7.  Celebrated 20 years of marriage with Worker Bee

Trust me, that's an ongoing project!

8.  Painted my aged and shabby (not so chic) looking outdoor seating.

Love how great it looks!  Like it's brand new!

9.  Did a little redecorating project in our bedroom inspired by the monogram I won from Cathe at Just Something I Made.

Yuck!  This did not function well and definitely didn't look good!

It all feels more spacious now!

10.  Painted my china cabinet and glazed it!

 Whether you like green or not, you have to admit it looks a whole lot better!

And the project that got away!  

I blogged about this back in January 2010 and not a thing has been done! Well, I have picked up paint chips.......

 I loved this wallpaper when I got it, but it's been almost 12 years and I am so ready for a change.  We want to paint and I think that's part of why we haven't gotten this project done.  Do we strip the wallpaper?  Do we paint over it?  Any suggestions?

I'm not changing my original tile (from 1951) and I found this gorgeous fabric at a steep discount ($3 a yard) and bought tons of it.  I see it on my bench cushions and other linens.  I bought a charming gingham check to make some curtains out of too.  Now I've had the fabric for a long time and this year - yes THIS YEAR - I will get this project done!!!

(Or you can read about me not getting it done next year.)

Thank you so much for all your visits over the past year.  Your visits and comments have meant so much to me and I've so enjoyed getting to know some of the best folks in the whole world.

Don't you wish we all lived in the same little town and we could just all get together for a cuppa'?

(Latte for me, for you......?)

I'm getting close to 300 followers and I promised myself I would have a giveaway when I reached that milestone, but, really, 300 is just an arbitrary number so I hope you come back to enter my ALMOST 300 FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY, starting in January.

Here's a little sneak peek of the giveaway......

Happy New Year to you all!  

May 2011 be the best and the brightest year yet!  

I am so looking forward to buzzing by your place and visiting with you in 2011!

Hugs to you all,

I'm linking up with
Cindy at My Romantic Home
and
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality

Thank you ladies for hosting!

Need Some Advice Please....

Hello friends!

I know you guys won't let me down.  I am trying to decide if I should keep a lampshade I just bought for my little silver teapot lamp.

Choice #1 - 

I don't LURVE it, but it works - uh, sort of.

Thought I'd give you a couple of angles to help you decide.  I liberated this shade from another lamp.  I tend to do that a lot - mix up shades and lamps that is.

This is just a simple round shade with a linen-like shade and a white band around the top and bottom. 

Now for Choice #2

 I just love the shape of this shade.

 But are the proportions right?

One of my favorite things about this new possibility is how it mimics the shape of the lamp.  As I look at it in these pictures it's really growing on me.

So....

which one should I use?

Or are they both bad choices?

Thanks for your buzz!

The Last Reds of Christmas!

Welcome to the last Rednesday of 2010!  Thank you Sue for giving us red lovers such a fun place to gather and appreciate all the lovely reds out there!

This is my last chance to share some of my Christmas reds before 2011!

My friends always call this an IQ test.  Do you get it?

A sweet Mary Engelbreit cherry ornament.  I have quite a few of those!

The ornament that shows it all!

A close up of our red pearl lights on the real tree.  We also have clear twinkle lights on the tree.  

My new favorite Christmas book!  And to think I just discovered the Farm Chicks!  Love them! You have to see this book of you haven't already!

Ahhh.....my favorite teapot or coffeepot of all time!  My Susan Branch coffeepot, sugar and creamer is such a fun and festive treasure.  Next year I think I'm going to wrap that big picture behind the pot in wrapping paper for the season.  What do you think?

Oh!  There's the Big Red Guy!

Ohhhh and there's the one I'm going to eat!  Yum!

Do you have See's candy in your part of the world?  Oh my - that is my favorite!

Thanks for buzzin' in!  Hope your New Year is as bright as all the wonderful reds you can see over at It's a Very Cherry World!

The Day After Christmas....

Christmas morning at Sweet Bee Cottage.....

A delicious breakfast of chocolate croissants, lattes, orange juice and some fruit......

Santa brought Baby Bee a new bike.....

Worker Bee got a fun new argyle sweater (the guy LOVES argyles)....

and I got a door!

What's that you say?  A door?  

Yes, you heard right.....a door!  

Actually it's a hardboard slab (that's the Home Depot name for it) and it's meant to be a very cheap interior door.

Why am I so excited to get a door?  

Well, I'm going to be a tease and not tell you until I get the job done.  Just rest assured that there will be quite a transformation before I'm done with it.  Now just keep your fingers crossed that the rain in California stops enough for me to get the job done before I go back to school.  And please say a little prayer for those who have suffered with our recent rains. 

While we're talking about Christmas, I just have to share with you the special present Baby Bee made for Worker Bee and me.

We each got a book of hug coupons - 20 each.  We keep teasing her and saying we're going to save them for when she's 13 and might not be as free with her hugs.  She bound it together and everything. (And yes...NOW she knows she spelled coupon wrong but she says they are still redeemable.)

I also got a sweet little giveaway winning in the mail on Christmas Eve.

I just love nicely wrapped treats, don't you?  I need to remember that when I send my giveaways out.  Note to self!

I kind of fell in love with this little snowman guy!  Too cute just hanging out.

Have you seen Cathy's work at 

Tadpoles and Teacups?

I just adore the whimsy she creates.  She has a great sense of humor.  

(Whimsy is a favorite word of mine.)

She had a giveaway on her blog and I won!  

This sweet little signed print is now living at my house.  Yeah! 

 And I'm not going to put it away with the Christmas decorations.  

Thank you Cathy!

And thank you for coming by!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!  I'm so looking forward to spending more time with you in the new year!

P.S.  I DID get all my gifts wrapped!  Even got them done before dinner on Christmas Eve!